Vermont State Colleges
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The Vermont State Colleges System (VSCS) is the
system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...
of public colleges in the U.S. state of
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. It was created by act of the
Vermont General Assembly The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...
in 1961. There are presently four colleges in the VSCS consortium, they are:
Castleton University Castleton University is a public university in Castleton, Vermont. It has an enrollment of 2000 students and offers more than 30 undergraduate programs, as well as master's degrees in education and accounting. It is accredited by the New England ...
,
Community College of Vermont The Community College of Vermont (CCV) is a community college in Vermont. It is Vermont's second largest college, serving 7,000 students each semester and is part of the Vermont State Colleges System. The college has 12 locations throughout Vermo ...
,
Northern Vermont University Northern Vermont University (NVU) is a public university in Johnson and Lyndon, Vermont. Established in 2018 by the unification of the former Johnson State College and Lyndon State College, the university offers over 50 Bachelor's degree progr ...
, and the
Vermont Technical College Vermont Technical College, commonly shortened to Vermont Tech, is a public technical college in Vermont with its main campuses in Randolph Center, Williston and Norwich. In addition, there are regional campuses in Brattleboro and Bennington, ...
. Together, more than 11,000 students are enrolled in these colleges.


History

While VSCS, the state colleges' governing organization, was created in the mid-20th century, most of the component colleges are older. The state legislature first chartered Castleton University as a grammar school in 1787. Johnson State College was founded in 1828. The Vermont Technical College was founded in 1866. Lyndon State College was founded in 1911. Community College of Vermont, founded in 1970, was founded after the creation of the VSC. The newest institution, Northern Vermont University, was created in 2018 by merging Johnson State College and Lyndon State College together, combining administration but keeping the campuses separate. The VSCS was headquartered at the Chancellors Office in
Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...
until August 2011 when
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forced it to relocate temporarily. After one year of temporary location at the Vermont Tech Enterprise Center in Randolph, the Chancellor's Office found a new, permanent home in Montpelier. For many years, the Vermont public colleges have experienced financial stress and chronic underfunding. Exacerbated by
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, in April 2020, previous Vermont State Colleges system Chancellor Jeb Spaulding recommended closing the
Vermont Technical College Vermont Technical College, commonly shortened to Vermont Tech, is a public technical college in Vermont with its main campuses in Randolph Center, Williston and Norwich. In addition, there are regional campuses in Brattleboro and Bennington, ...
residential campus in Randolph as well as all operations/campuses of
Northern Vermont University Northern Vermont University (NVU) is a public university in Johnson and Lyndon, Vermont. Established in 2018 by the unification of the former Johnson State College and Lyndon State College, the university offers over 50 Bachelor's degree progr ...
. This proposal was withdrawn and the state provided emergency "bridge" funding to the system in fall 2020. With the funding, the state put the system on a five-year plan to eliminate the system's structural deficit, unify Castleton University, Northern Vermont University, and Vermont Technical College into one university while keeping current campus locations open, and consolidate administrative services across the system. The Vermont State Colleges System Board of Trustees endorsed the plan in February 2021 and announced in September 2021 that the institutions would unify under the name
Vermont State University Vermont State University (VSU) is a public university in the state of Vermont formed through the merger of three institutions: Castleton University, Northern Vermont University, and Vermont Technical College. The university was first proposed i ...
on July 1, 2023.


Chancellors

# Richard E. Bjork, 1978 – 1984 #Charles I. Bunting, 1984–1999 #Robert G. Clarke, 1999 – 2009 #Timothy Donovan, 2009–2015 #
Jeb Spaulding George B. "Jeb" Spaulding (born December 28, 1952) is an American politician and the former chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges. He previously served as Vermont State Treasurer and as Governor Peter Shumlin's secretary of administration. ...
, 2015–2020 #Sophie Zdatny, 2020-Present


Organization

The Chancellor's office is the chief executive function of the system and performs day to day financial and policy operations. It is headed by Chancellor Sophie Zdatny. The system is overseen by the fifteen-member Board of Trustees and each of the state colleges has its own president and deans. Over eighty percent of VSCS students come from the state of Vermont. Students come from over forty other U.S. states, and more than forty-five countries. Class sizes are small, the average faculty to student ratio across the five colleges is 1:16. Nearly ninety percent of the faculty hold a Ph.D. or equivalent doctorate level terminal degree in their field of instruction.


References


External links

* {{authority control Vermont State Colleges Public universities and colleges in Vermont Liberal arts colleges in the United States Public university systems in the United States 1961 establishments in Vermont